This morning, Richard Mooney and I drove to Vernon and met Chris Siddle on
the Vernon Commonage. We birded a few of the North Okanagan hotspots before
heading N. to Salmon Arm, then back south to Kelowna. The weather was
spectacular and the fall colours were beautiful. We were a bit spoiled by
excellent birding too!!

Vernon Commonage

*SURF SCOTER 1 imm. on McKay's Reservoir
Eared Grebe 1 on McKay's Reservoir
Lesser Scaup 50
Northern Shoveler 200 on McKay's Reservoir
Redhead 100 on McKay's Reservoir
American Coot 10 on McKay's Reservoir
Bufflehead 20
Mallard 5
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Northern Harrier 1
Killdeer 1 on McKay's Reservoir
Black-capped Chickadee 5
Northern Flicker 1
American Robin 1
Red-winged Blackbird 1
Western Bluebird 7 in flock near McKay's Reservoir
Song Sparrow 1
Black-billed Magpie 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1 (myrtle race) at McKay's Reservoir
Dark-eyed Junco 2
Ring-necked Duck 60 on Rose's Pond
Green-winged Teal 2
Gadwall 20
Barrow's Goldeneye 11
Evening Grosbeak 2
Lapland Longspur 1 heard at Rose's Pond
Townsend's Solitaire 3 on hillside N. or Rose's Pond

1 Bonaparte's Gull was at the mouth of Vernon Ck

Swan Lake

*CLARK'S GREBE 1
Western Grebe 6
Pied-billed Grebe 36
Horned Grebe 24
Red-necked Grebe 8
Canvasback 3
American Wigeon 10
Green-winged Teal 4
Gadwall 15
Northern Shoveler 100
Hooded Merganser 1 male
Common Loon 1
American Goldfinch 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Ring-billed Gull 3
Marsh Wren 1
Song Sparrow 4

27 Common Mergansers were at Otter Lake, N. of Vernon.

Salmon Arm Foreshore

*RED PHALAROPE 1 juv. molting into first basic plumage (lifer!) at the foot
of Narcisse Road
Pectoral Sandpiper 50
Killdeer 300
Long-billed Dowitcher 50
*AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER 3 at the pier
Black-bellied Plover 1 at the pier
*FRANKLIN'S GULL 2 at the foot of Narcisse Rd
Redhead 10
Green-winged Teal 1 male
Gadwall 10
Ring-necked Duck 5
Mallard 10
Canada Goose 700
Swan sp 1 ad. too far away
Ring-billed Gull 100
Herring Gull 40
Common Merganser 40
Bald Eagle 4
Horned Grebe 10
Western Grebe 20
Great Blue Heron 5
Belted Kingfisher 1
White-crowned Sparrow 1

Maude Roxby Bird Sanct (Kelowna)

*PARASITIC JAEGER 1 imm. intermediate race bird (first seen on Oct 10)
chasing 2 imm. Glaucous-winged Gulls! This bird has taken to the technique
of driving gulls into trees so they hit branches and lose their agility. The
bird, again, put on a fantastic show only 30 feet overhead!

That's all,

Chris Charlesworth
Kelowna, BC



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